Friday  April 4, 11, 25 4-7 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.

Saturday April 5, 12, 26 12-4 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS ON PREACHING

Dear Christian friends,

This is the conclusion of our eight part series on New Testament preaching from the book of Acts. Preaching is found throughout the Bible. Noah was called a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5). The Old Testament prophets loudly proclaimed God’s Word in public places, and were usually persecuted for it. John the Baptist was a preacher. He told people to “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2).

Jesus was also a street preacher. He began with basically the same message: “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). His voice was loud enough that thousands of people could hear Him. After His resurrection, He told His followers “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). He told them “you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me” (Acts 1:8).

Throughout the New Testament, His followers obeyed His commandment to preach the gospel throughout the world. They preached in public places, to Jews and Gentiles, to rulers and ordinary people. After Saul persecuted the Jerusalem church in Acts 8, “they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.”

Today, many professing Christians say that preaching is not appropriate for our age — especially any mention of Hell, repentance, or judgment. There is no Biblical basis for such a view. Certainly, we live in an age of “moral relativism.” Many unbelievers think that Christians are intolerant because we believe that Jesus is the only way to God and that those who reject Him will be punished in Hell. It is tragic that so many people today consider themselves “evangelical Christians,” yet they reject the clear command of Jesus to go into all the world and preach the gospel of repentance and remission of sins.

Many modern evangelistic methods are attempts to “witness” for Jesus without offending anyone. Some avoid any mention of sin, repentance, or judgment and speak only of God’s love, forgiveness and healing. Was Jesus wrong when he said, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:5)?

Some like to misquote St. Francis: “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” Jesus found it necessary to use words, as did Peter, Paul, and everyone else in the Bible (even Balaam’s donkey)! Do we think we are better than Jesus? Do we think that if Jesus and Paul had used our modern evangelism methods, they could have avoided persecution? Paul said, “All who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). It is impossible to present the gospel in a Biblical way and avoid all persecution.

At the other extreme, there are Christians who are preaching in a way that seems designed to be as offensive as possible. They insult people with their crude, harsh, condemning language and rejoice when they are persecuted. However, they are actually bringing reproach to the gospel. Non-Christians watch them, and decide they never want to become Christians. Christians watch them, and decide they never want to become preachers.

I do believe that we need to understand the audience we are preaching to, and adapt our message to that audience. I could read Jonathan Edward’s famous sermon, “Sinners in the hand of an angry God” to a modern audience, but it would not have the same effect it did in his day. A lot of people today have a hard time with the concept of Hell, and think it is unjust for God to send “good” people there, simply for not believing  in  Jesus.       I agree with Ray Comfort that,

instead of repeatedly telling people they will go to Hell, we need to use the law to help awaken their consciences. People need to realize that they have sinned, that their sin is serious, and that God is just and must punish sin. If someone viciously murdered our child, we would want them to be punished severely. We would be angry if the judge simply let the murderer go free. In the same way, it is reasonable for a just God to punish law-breakers severely. Once they understand this, they can appreciate what God did for us in sending His Son to die in our place.

On the Streets

On Sat. September 7, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. Alex ministered to Marcelio, who works as a security guard at the Wharf. He had formerly attended church with Alex, but said he no longer believes in Jesus. He said that someone asked him “If God is good, why is there evil in the world?” He claimed that he lost faith because he couldn’t answer that question. Alex explained that God did not want to create robots, but created us with free will, so we could make meaningful choices between doing good and evil. If God ended all evil today, most people would be sentenced to eternal punishment in Hell for their sins. God will ultimately do away with all evil, but is waiting the give each person an opportunity to come to Jesus so they can receive forgiveness instead of punishment for their sins.

Tats witnessed to Mohammed, who was trying to convert him to Islam. He thought he could tear apart the Bible and said God could not have had a Son. Tats showed him several Bible verses in which Jesus claimed to be the only begotten Son of God. Justin, Peter and I ministered to Joshua, 40. He was raised in a Christian home and served God during his teenage years, but had been backslidden for 20 years. A few days before, he rededicated his life to Jesus. We encouraged him to find a good church where he could grow spiritually.

On Friday September 13, we witnessed at Powell and Market. Mike witnessed to Israel and a young man named “Q.” We have seen them several times and spoken with them. Q said he was trying to quit his marijuana use, but was finding it difficult. Mike encouraged him to put his faith in Jesus and invited him to City Impact church. He also spoke with Ramona, 25, who shared her testimony of a powerful dream in which God revealed Himself to her and she trusted in Jesus for salvation. She came from a difficult family background with a father who drank and was abusive towards her mother. Mike also invited her to City Impact. Adrian witnessed to Chris, 30, who said his grandmother used to tell him about Jesus. Adrian encouraged him to get right with God and prayed with him. He also witnessed to Luis, 23, who said, “I just want to be happy.” He asked how he could get closer to God. Adrian explained the gospel to him and prayed with him.

The next day, Paul Coca had organized a Jesus Parade. About 25 Christians marched from the Ferry Building to Fisherman’s Wharf. We had several music groups and preachers that afternoon. During the march, Lisa met a man who was contemplating suicide. He had called a suicide prevention hotline but said they didn’t help him. Lisa shared the gospel with him and prayed with him. Sean and Grant, both from Sacramento, witnessed to Mohammed, whom Tats had witnessed to the week before. They shared several scriptures with him about the deity of Jesus. Sean and Grant also witnessed to some Jehovah’s Witnesses and showed them Hebrews 1, that clearly states that Jesus is not an angel.

On Fri. October 4, we witnessed at 16^th St. and Mission. Most of the people in this area speak Spanish, and many do not speak English. Adrian began by preaching in Spanish, later in English. Josiah, age 11, showed up a second time with his mother. He also preached in Spanish and in English. Josiah’s ability to preach at his young age is remarkable, and we are thankful to his Christian mother for raising him up in the Lord.

A Final Word

Thank you for your prayers and financial support for this ministry.   We still have three openings in our ministry home. We are looking for spiritually mature young men with a serious desire to evangelize San Francisco.

You have probably heard about California’s home insurance crisis. In December, before the LA fires, our insurance company, which had insured us for about 30 years, canceled the insurance on our house (effective March 15). They gave no reason. We had been paying $1600 a year for our insurance. I spent over a week contacting about 20  brokers, trying to find insurance. Because our house is owned by our ministry, not an individual, we need a commercial policy. Many brokers told me nobody would insure us. I got a quote for $3150, which I accepted. We passed our online inspection. I only received 2 other quotes: for $9000 and $10,000!  Please pray that we will continue to be able to get insurance on our ministry home at a reasonable price.

I hope many of you will join one of our outreaches or witness in your own community.